Hearing aid and attachment therefor



July 7, 1964 R. H. BARRQWS 3,140,363

HEARING AID AND ATTACHMENT THEREFOR Filed June 2, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 PRESSURE SENSITIVE TAPE INVENTOR. ROBERT H. BARROWS 1964 R. H. BARROWS 3,140,363

HEARING AID AND ATTACHMENT THEREFOR Filed June 2. 1960 2 Sheets-$heet 2 F3 INVENTOR.

ROBERT H. BARROWS United States Patent 3,140,363 HEARING AID AND ATTACHMENT THEREFOR Robert H. Barrows, 4535 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, Ariz. Filed June 2, 1960, Ser. No. 33,525 1 Claim. (Cl. 179107) My invention relates in general to hearing aids and more in particular to means for reducing noise therein.

Hearing aids are made in various sizes and in general the power output measuring amplification is proportional to the size of the unit. People with only relatively minor hearing loss therefore can commonly use a relatively small hearing aid; but those with marked hearing loss, say of the order of 50 to 75 percent loss, must employ an instrument of larger size providing greater power and greater amplification. Regardless of the size of the hearing aid, all vibrations reaching the instrument are amplified. As a consequence, the relatively very low level of vibrations caused by clothing rubbing against the instrument causes such noise to be generated, particularly in the larger instruments, that it is almost impossible for the user to make out conversations clearly. The most significant problem encountered, however, is the severe nervousness which many people feel when using a hearing aid. So great is this symptom, that many people needing hearing aids find it impossible to make adequate use of them.

Manufacturers of hearing aids have resorted to many expedients to eliminate or reduce the noise problem, in-. cluding the use of special bags to reduce vibrations and various types of clips to secure the instrument in place so that to minimize rubbing action of the clothing. Hearing aids have also been made to be worn in the ear, beneath the tie, or for attachment to a Wrist and for support in other ways; but none of these expedients has been entirely satisfactory in eliminating noise while still providing adequate correction. In recent years there has been an emphasis on miniaturization so that the hearing aid can be associated with spectacles, worn entirely within the ear or mounted in other ways to avoid rubbing action. Miniaturized instruments, however, generally do not have adequate power for those with severe loss of hearing; so that only those with relatively minor loss of hearing can successfully use special miniaturized instruments. Regardless of the extent to which miniaturization is carried out moreover, an instrument having adequate power and amplification for the very hard of hearing will also necessarily amplify all vibrations such as the very low level vibrations caused by the rubbing of any kind of clothing. Regardless of the type of hearing instrument worn, its users have continued to be severely limited in that it is extremely uncomfortable and even at times impossible for them to engage in any great activity such as dancing or sports with the hearing aid in operation.

The principal object of the present invention is to obviate the difliculties discussed hereinabove.

Another object is the provision of an improved method of and means for substantially completely eliminating noise interferences caused by the rubbing of clothing.

Still another object is to so reduce hearing aid noise of the type identified that even people with severe loss of hearing can engage in common activities such as dancing and the playing of games while using their hearing aids.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an attachment particularly adapted for use with a hearing aid worn on the body, said attachment having the function of substantially completely reducing the noise caused by the rubbing of clothing.

In accordance with the general features of my invention, I interpose a strip of tape having a pressure sensitive adhesive coating on both its sides between the face of the instrument containing the microphone and amplification system (or to the bag conventionally used to carry the instrument on the body) to the wearers shirt or whatever part of his clothing may be over the hearing aid instrument. Thus the clothing which normally rubs against the instrument to generate noise is releasably adhesively secured to the instrument to thereby prevent relative movement between the instrument and such clothing. In its preferred form the tape comprises a sheet or strip of cloth, paper, plastic or the like provided with a plurality of openings and having both of its surfaces coated with pressure sensitive adhesive material. Such tape may be quickly and easily applied to the instrument or its supporting bag and to the adjacent clothing and the perforations on the tape will permit sound waves as of the human voice to pass through to the microphone without mufiling the sound.

While the invention may be practiced in several specific ways, I have shown in the drawings certain preferred embodiments of the invention which I have found very satisfactory in actual practice. Referring to such drawings,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a standard type of hearing aid instrument in a conventional cloth bag which is suspended from the wearers neck and attached around his body;

FIG. 2 shows one manner in which the attachment comprising the pressure sensitive tape attachment as it may be made available to the hearing aid wearer;

FIG. 3 shows the hearing aid instrument of FIG. 1 with the pressure sensitive tape attachment in place on the instrument ready for attachment to the clothing;

FIG. 4 illustrates the manner in which the instrument and attached clothing are both held against relative movement of the action of the tape;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are views similar to FIG. 5 but showing modifications;

FIG. 8 shows a pressure sensitive tape attachment as shown in FIG. 2 but somewhat larger to accommodate a larger instrument;

FIG. 9 shows the use of the tape on a somewhat larger hearing aid instrument in which the microphone is located in a diiferent position; and

FIG. 10 shows still another manner in which the tape may be made available to the user of a hearing aid.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a common type of hearing aid instrument 10 having a microphone indicated at 11 (the drawing shows a grid for passage of sound waves, the microphone being located behind the grid) using a volume control 12 and a tone control 13. The instrument is supported in a bag 14 open at the front to pass sound waves and adapted to be supported from the neck by straps 16 and held tightly against the body by straps 17. FIG. 1 therefore illus trates the complete instrument as it is normally worn.

As explained generally hereinabove, the noise normally generated when an instrument as shown in FIG. 1 is worn in the ordinary way, may be readily reduced or even completely eliminated by the use of pressure sensitive adhesive tape attachment in which the adhesive is applied to both sides of the tape, so that one side of the tape is secure to the instrument and the other side secured to an adjacent portion of the clothing which would normally be in rubbing contact with the instrument. FIG. 2 shows one form which the tape attachment may take and which has shown very good results in actual use. The attachment of FIG. 2 comprises a pressure sensitive tape strip 18 with a series of holes 19 (FIG. 5) of rectangular configuration and arranged in the form of a ladder or lattice. Imperforate protecting strips 21 and 22 are provided on opposite sides of tape 18 and partially overlap its edges so that the strips 21 and 22 may readily be grasped at the corners and stripped completely back to expose the strip 18. The strip 18 is secured directly to the outside of the bag 14 on the front face thereof which would normally be in contact with the clothing as shown in FIG. 3. The front face of the pressure sensitive adhesive strip 18 is secured to the clothing 23, as shown in FIG. 4, by pressure of the hand against the clothing after such clothing has been put on and adjusted in place.

FIGS. 8 and 9 merely illustrate the use of a larger type instrument in which the microphone 111 is placed at the top of the instrument, an expedient sometimes utilized on higher amplification instruments in an attempt to reduce clothing noise. I found, however, that the location of the microphone in this position is not in any way adequately efi'ective to eliminate clothing noise. Actually, the noise generated in this type of instrument is so great than many people with severe impairment either find it impossible to wear the instrument because of the noise or, if they wear it, turn the instrument off most of the time and only utilize it when they are in a position of rest or when they can actually take the instrument out and hold it in their hands. When noise is severe, as in high amplificative instruments, even a relatively small amount of movement caused by breathing is frequently unbearable to the wearer. For convenience I have applied to FIGS. 8 and 9 the same reference characters used in FIGS. 1 through but with the prefix 1 added to indicate modification.

One very convenient way of providing the tape attachment is to dimension it for each instrument with which it is adapted to be used. Since however there are a relatively large number of manufacturers and each puts out more than one type of instrument, there is an advantage in having a single attachment fit at least several instruments instead of making a separate attachment designed for each individual instrument. I have found that if the holes 19 are properly dimensioned and positioned (one suitable form being ladder or lattice structure) and the total area of openings comprise between about 15% and 30% of the entire tape area, the same attachment will fit many different instruments satisfactorily. There is no objection to the tape extending slightly around to the side of bag 14, but if desired the attachment can be trimmed by a straight cut with scissors along its sides while the protective strips 21 and 22 are still in position, so that it will fit a smaller instrument than that for which it was primarily designed. The holes in the tape may be any size, shape or arrangement or may vary in number, such even as a single hole-to clear the microphone. The tape may even be imperforate, if the microphone is at the top of the instrument, but such a tape would, of course, be greatly limited in its applicability.

To avoid distortion of the strip 18 when the protective strips 21 and 22 are removed, it is preferable that these strips be imperforate. This depends to some extent on the material employed, it being obvious that the tape 18 and strips 21 and 22 may be formed of any suitable relatively flexible material such as cotton or plastic. Generally speaking, I prefer that the tape 18 be a piece of a woven fabric material and that the protective strips 21 and 22 be formed of thin clear plastic material. In the production of the attachment on a relatively large scale by the use of available equipment, it may be difficult to perforate only the tape. I accordingly find that, using suitable material which will resist distortion, it is possible to obtain good results if the perforations extend completely through the entire attachment including the protective strips. Alternatively, the openings 19 may extend through only one protective strip to facilitate manufacture on automatic equipment. These simple modifications are illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7. The parts of FIGS. 6 and 7 are identified with the same reference characters as FIGS. 2 and 5 but with the prefix 2 and 3 being added to show modification.

While the attachment of my invention may be formed of various material such as cloth, paper, sheet plastic and the like, the pressure sensitive coating may be formed of any suitable composition used by tape fabrication. Many formulae are known, and usually each manufacturer has its own special formulation for various types of tape. In general, coatings of the type frequently used for masking tape are satisfactory. One desirable characteristic of the coating, other than its tackiness, is that the coating should continue to adhere to the tape and not come off on either the instrument or clothing of the wearer.

As shown in FIG. 10 the attachment may also be vended in a roll of adequate width but otherwise generally similar to conventional rolls of pressure sensitive adhesive tape, and the necessary lengths cut off or torn off at the scored lines provided. In FIG. 10 I have employed the same reference characters as in the previously described embodiments, using however the prefix 4 to indicate modification. Suitable score lines 410 are indicated. The life of the tape attachment depends upon its coating, the frequency of its use, temperature, humidity and other factors. In general, however, I have found that a single tape attachment may be used for about 2 to 5 days, even with frequent changes of clothing. Because of the very simple and quick application of the attachment, daily changes offer no problem and insure maximum beneficial results.

In the foregoing description I have described the tape as being adhesively attached to the clothing and to the instrument itself, or to the bag conventionally used to suspend the instrument from the neck. In the drawings, however, the illustrative embodiments show the tape adhesively attached to the instrument supporting bag. It should be understood that, because of the construction of the bag and its snug engagement of the instrument itself, there is little or no noise generated by this contact. It is only usually when the instrument is supported without such a bag that the adhesive strip must be secured directly to its surface. When I refer in the specification, and in the claim, to the attachment of the pressure sensitive adhesive tape to the hearing aid instrument, such terminology is intended in a generic sense to encompass attachment to either the instrument or a bag or the like by which the instrument is supported.

I have shown and described specific details of my invention so that those skilled in the art may understand the manner of practicing the same, but the scope of the invention is defined by the claim.

I claim:

In a hearing aid, a microphone and amplifying instrument with an opening to admit sound waves, and a strip of tape secured to the outer surface of such instrument in such a manner as not to close said sound admitting openings, said tape strip having an exterior surface coated with pressure sensitive adhesive material on both its sides, said tape adapted for attachment to an adjacent portion of clothing to prevent noise generation by relative rubbing movement between the instrument and said clothing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,505,551 Knowles Apr. 25, 1950 2,775,652 Stutz Dec. 25, 1956 2,805,183 Higgins Sept. 3, 1957 2,819,032 Detrie et a1 Jan. 7, 1958 3,021,250 La Voie Feb. 3, 1962 

